X improvement i in brick-machines



Wmpmw,

@y MW', k! l 1y l l 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. C. CHAMBERS, Jr.

ABriok-lVlaLchine.A No. 207,343. Patented Aug.Y 27, 187s.

3 'Sheets-Sheet 3.

0. GHAIVLBBRSQJrl Brick-Machine. No. 207,343. Patentedv Aug. 27,1878.

Um'rnn i 'reune iieraiirr i.

oYRUs CHAMBERS, Jn., or rinmnstrnm, rnnnsrmfnsm l naPaoveree-nr nleelcasmoeises.

` Speciiicnton forming part cl' Letters luicnt No. mf., dated August 2T,115'53; application filed Muy il, 15378.

To all whom -z't may commu-e'. dering the machine icontained and betterBe it known that l', CYRUS UHAMBERS, Jr., able to sustain thelongitudinal strain or thrust of Philadelphia, in the county orlihiladelphia of the pnggiog-sheit; tcreduc'e the power and State ofPennsylvania, have invented cerrequired to drive it; to lessen thedensity and tain .new and useful Improvements in Brickimprove the.molecular' arrangement of the clay Making Machines, and l'. do herebydeclare in the hriclr; tosecure smoothness -of 'surface that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact de on the sides and ends of thebrick; to insure scrption ofi the invention, which will enable perfectuniformity ci' length', and to protect` o others skilled in the art to1Sfhiehit opper the .innehine far possible againstthe tains to make anduse thesanie, reference be known causes ,of injnry and breakage 5 and,ing had to thc accompanying dre-Winge, and finally, te improve itsiorm'and proportions, f to letters of reference marked thereon, which and thedetails oi its operative parts.:

form apart of this specification. The improvements consist Figure 1 is atop View or plan of 1the nia First, in re Jing the thrust ofpuggingchine. Fie.v 2 is a vert-ical transverse section sli fi: upon ate .placed upon the end of of the' tempering-case andhopper on line e;'w saxusha't' ""engedte run true with it,.tnditsel of 1. Fig. 3 isavertical longitudinal n `rig-in contes" with aleose plano-convexsect-1015011anenlargedscale,oithethrnstpiate nl e place-din rcsifondingeavityin the and cross-head, taken ou line fr x of Fig i erosshead at eli' the machine. Fig, 4ns a face View of the three-opiate, shown Second,in' riet-ing vthe clogging ci' the ing the luhricatiuggrooves. Fig'. 5is a face hopper through which the clay is fed to the viewof the formerand sand-box. Fig. 6 is a hy ma the lower end 'of the hopper .verticalsection, on line y] y of Fig .3, of the larger than ce opper end, toinsure the free sand hon and scraper. Fie. 7 is a sidericrr dischargethe clay. L of the automatic feeding mechanism. Fig. 3 Third, in makingthe inlet through which isa front View of the safety mechanism on thethe clay passes to the case circular, and inrear of the chain-frame' infront of the former. serting it tangentially to lthe `cylindrical por-Fig. 9 isa diagram showing the relation he- `tion ci the case, end onthat side on which the tween the diameter of the feeding-screw andentering clay will meet the tempering-knives the transverse section ofthe brick the machine as they are rising, so vthat the clay shall he isintcndcdto make. Fig. 10 is a plan, on an kept loose and continuallyagitated which mai el'llarged scale, of part of endless chain` N.terially lessons the clogging of the hopper.

Fig. 11 is a'transverse vertical section of 'the Fourth, in arrangingthe temperinghnives same,.sho\\ing the cap, iangcs,.and guiding aroundthe pugging-shaft in a spiral windspring s. 4 in a direction opposite tothat of the exi The same letter indicates the same part inpressingscrew, or the reverse of that which all the figures where itoccurs. would tend to force the clay toward the-delivery This invent-ionrelates tothat class of brickv end of the case, for purposes hereinafteren making machines lrwhich the clay is telnplained. pcrcd inacase,driven outin a continuous bar Fifth, in supporting cach tempering-bladethrough -a forming-dic, and cut into proper bya projection upon thepugging-shaft placed lengths by a severing mechanism. behind the knife,said projections being set in A machine ofthat class is described or reaspiral upon the shaft, and having their faces ferred to in the PatentsNo'. 39,884, September so arranged that in passing through the clay 15,18GB, No. 40,221', Qctober- 6,`1863, and No. Ythey tend 4to force ittowardthe expressingl' 198,880, November-119, 1870;.and the presentscrew. invention consists' in various modifications Sixth, in giving apeculiar4 ,location to l the and improvements of the machines anddemouth of the expressingscrewg'to facilitate the `vices described inthose patents, the same b edelivery of. lthe clay from the knives' tothe ing intended `to remedy the derects disclosed screw and topreventclo'gging.

`by experiencein the machine `of 1363,'by renf Seventh, ingso reducingthe diameter-of the expressing-screw that the clay delivered by itthrough the die will undergo much less com'- l pression than intheformer machine, and hence the lamination arising from torsionand'compression will be much lessened and the brick rendered less dense,more homogeneous, and more tractable under the trowel. The practicallimit I have found, by many experiments, to be a diameter of screwslightly greater than the longest diameter of the brick to be made.

on a wooden pin, m, for purposes hereinafter explained. y Tenth, inardcvice for cutting the bar of clay into the desired lengths for bricksby means of a spiral blade and endless chain, which' divide the bar intoperfectly uniform lengths, and give smoothness to the surfaces oftheends of the bricks.

Eleventh; iu the mechanism for regulating automatically the relationbetween the speed of the bar of clay and that of the cut-oft de! viee,so that it shall be uniform'under all conditions.

Twelfth, in, a peculiar arrangement of the 'sand-Scrapers, by which theydo not come in 4contact with each other and form corners in which theclay can lodge; and, finally, in the improved minor detalls ofconstruction hereinatter fully specified.

To enable others to make and use my improvements, I will proceed todescribe the construction and operation of the improved machine,referring to the'drawin gs by the letters of reference marked thereon.

A marks the frame'of the machine, on and in which the operative partsare supported and attached. The' machine, when lixed in this frame,becomesa sin glo system, self-contained, and requiring only a properfoundation to support it for operation. rlhis was not the ease with mymachine of 1863,y Patent No. 39,Q84.

This improvement in the system of framing enables me to erect themachine at the factory, and transport it, as a' whole, to the placewhere it is to beused.

At the rear of the frame is .L cross-head, B, (see Figs. 1 and 3,)attached to the frame by the bolts z 2 and forming a box for thereception-of the rear end of pugging-shaft P and' the. plates whichreceive its thrust. is provided with a cover, c, and its lower por--tion forms an oil-chamber, r, for the reception ot' the lubricant forthe shaft and thrust-plate.

The rear side` of thefbox is concave to receive the convexrearward'projection 'of a.

loose plate, Unt-he front face of `vhich is flat, es shown. Tins plateis prevented 'from turning by the lug` I, entering a groove in the rearof the box.

In front'of plate U is the thrust-plate T,

against which the rear end of the pug-ging.

shaft 'abuts. The thrust-plate is shown in seetion in "Fig,` 3, and inface view in Fig. 4. Its

ceived, isenabledto line up withthe truerunning plate T, and thus alwayspresent a good working and wearin g surface.

C C* is the tempering-case, formed in two parts, hinged-together at cl,bolted on the opposite side, and capable of being thrown open whenrequired. It is nearly cylindrical in form, its sides approaching eachother gradually as they approach the screw-case or idelivery end of themachine. Into the rear end `of this case the clay is introduced througha conoidal hopper, H, projecting downward from a platform, D, Fig. 2,and having its larger opening at its lower end, to facilitate thedelivery of the clay `and prevent the clogging of 4the hopper.

The upper end of the hopper is provided `with a flange, a., covering theopening inthe platform, which opening is made large enough for thepassage of the larger cud of the hopper. On the lower face ofthe flangeis an annular rib, Z1, which enters the opening of the platform andholds the hopper in'place. The lower endv of the hopper hangs loose inthe upper shell of the tempering-ease C, so that if the platform shouldsag the hopper may dewith the floor of the platform.

The cla-y enters the case through a circular inlet-pipe, I, insertedtangentially in the -,upper shell of the case, and on that side wherethe entering clay will meet the temperingknives K on their upwardcourse, andthe lumps be continually agitated andthe clay loosened, whichmaterially lessens the clogging of the hopper. -fThe pugging-shaft P isprovided with a spirally around it 0n a curve running'in the oppositedirection to that of the spiral of the 4screw S, which is attached tothe forward end of the shaft, and presses the tempered clay out throughthe die, as hereinafter explained.

This arrangement of the knives obviate's the rear side is fiat and runsin loose contact with and arrangement of the box, plate, and shaft, theplate U, when the thrust of the shaft is rescend, while the flange orcap a remains flush series of tempering-knives, K K, arranged v ceac-i 3tendencynthey would have, it' placed on thev saine spiral as the screw,to drive the clay into the screw-case and compress it there, and produceclogging and an unnecessary density. Lesa power is consequently requiredto drive the tempering-lrnives, the function of each ignite being merelyto plow the,clay over into, the space left vacant by its predecessor,thus giving each knife a verynarrow strip of clay 'to operate upon, andrelieving it from sustaining the backward thrust of the entire mass ofclay moving in front oi" it,

There is a projection, c?, upon the puggingshaft at the `back otI eachtemperingdrnife K, intended to support the knite and prevent yit frombeing forced backward by the clay as the .shaft revolves. Theseprojections are set in a position oblique to the ehaft l), and form aspiral lupon it; but their faces are so arranged with reference to thedirection ot rotation ol' the shaft that they shall, by theirrevolation, impel the clay'toward the expressingscrew S. Y l

S marlrs the conical expressing-screw on 'the forward end of shaft l),rotating in the :colloidal screw-case E, provided with a removi" byline,except that its diameter is less, and the arrangement of-its mouth or4base relatively to the tempering-knives is dilierent. .In my originalmachine of 1863 the diameter of the screw was large in proportion to thesize ot' the brick to be made; hence the large 'quantity of claywhichthe screwwould contain hadto be i driven through the die at a greatexpenditure of power, and with the eli'cct of so'condensing, drawing,and laminating the materiales to renderl the brick extremely hard andheavy, and somewhat ditlicnlt to .cut with accuracy under thctrowel. liyreducing the diameter oi the Ascrew the axnountof drawn g to which theclay is subjected is great-ly lesseneihand the `lamination in theshorter kinds ot" clay almost entirely preventeih M y experiments haveled ino to' adopt a diameter for the screw alittie greater than thelongest transverse .diameter ot'` the brick -to.

be made.

It is important that `the month of the screw should be so arrangedrelatively to the tempering-lauree that the clay should be allowed topacs freely without clogging between the knives and the base of thescrew. The spiral' of the scrcwbeing opposite indircction to that ot"the line of iknivesfthe two form at `their point ofjunction the ends of4a right and left handed thread, which wouldbring the second.tempering-knife `from the screw end of the shaft so close to thethreadof the screw as ,to

canse the clayto lodge between them. ly placing the mout-h of the screwopposite to and a little back ot' the first knife, 'said knifewill feedthe clay overinto the cavity and between the thread of theexpressing-screw, and the second one into the path of the rst, and thethird knite be sutiiciently far from the screw to allowI the clay topass freely between them. 0n the forward 'end of the screw-case E isattached the former, with its die and lining both formed in one piece.The walls of the former are inclined, as shown, and guide the clay intothe die, gradually imparting to it the rectangular form and reducing itto the size 'of the die, through which it emerges in the shape ot'acontinuous rectangular bar, whose cross` section is that of thebriclcto be made. The former is hinged to` the screw-case by a largehinge, j, the extremities of which arc about I'onejthird of thecircumference of the former apart. 0n the side of the screw-caseopp/osito to the hinge j is an eye, x, to whichis hinged, by a woodenpin, m., a swinging bolt, le, whichei'igages with an eye on the former,and locks it to the screw-case. 'lhusJ the former is held to the case atthree cquidist-ant points around its circumference, and yet can beopened or closed by the use ot' a single bolt. The wooden pin m is ofsuch a diameter as to be amply strong to hold the foriner to its placewhen the machine is working under normal conditions; but should' theclay become `too stiff, 'or a large stone getin, so as to subject themachine to a dangerous strain, the wooden pin will be cnt oft' beforeany other part of 'the machinc'will'A give way, and thus prevent seriousinjury.

Inlatcnt No. 109,034: the former and diclining are made in two parts,the fern-1er being of iron and thedie-'lining of steel; but it was foundthat the former were lawayas well as i the die, and when a new die wasAinserted VVan abrupt shoulder was formed atthelr line ot' junction,over which the clay had tombe forced at thecost ofpower and oi" theperfection ot the surface of Vthe` bar. 4

My improved arrangement ot' the sandscrapers is illustrated in ,igs 5iand'G. This is lan improvement on the invention of Wm.

Mendham, assigned to me, for which another j application for a patentwill be made.

' In the device ot' Mendliam the Sandscrapein?=` which aremade of rubberor leather, are rangedfin rectangular forni `around the` ori in thesandbox through whichj thc clay emerges, and lie in close contact` witheother, forming at their intersect-ions corn which are apt to becomeclogged by weak or soft clay. i x

My improvement consists in arranging- Lthe top and `bottom ecrapersl indiftcrent planes from each other and from the side Scrapers, so thatthere is no contactbctwcen anyiot' them to form corners. 1 piace theupper scraper, c,

nearest tothe die, so that the sand scraped 1 by it from thetop of thebar` drops in front of the side Scrapers, e" c', andis applied toitliefrom the forward or leading end of. the blade,

' t fore it, and leaves the ends of thel brick perof clay eanbc cutquite smooth.

. fore theblade completes the severing of it.

. to one side of the chain, its 'drawing cut has a G2, attached to thepiigging-shaft P. 0n the sides of the bar, and thence, falling, iscaught in the projecting bottom' scraper, f, which, by the obliquity ofits sides, directs the sand toward the middle of the under side of thebai'. l provide the bottom of the sand-box with a slide for theconvenience of removing the surplus sand.

The device for cutting the har of clayinto uniform lengths for bricks isradically different from that heretofore used. lt consists, in the main,of a spiral severing-blade, Q, in combination with an endless chain, N,each link oz-'of which equals i-n length that of the brick the machineis designed to make. In each link, at about two-tliirds the distancefrom the diefe'nd, are slits p, through which the spiral blade Qnruns.The chain is supported u-pon rollers, and passes around wheels at theend ofthe chain-stand. 'ilicdinks are held laterally inplace by a cap,t, which laps over their The spiral 'blade Q. is made of temperedsheet-steel, and has three full turns, the iirst two of which graduallyincrease in diameter so that the blade, as it revolves, shall graduallyenter and sever the bar-of clay.

long drawing cut, which rubs out the clay luefectly smooth. ,Any smallhard foreign sub-l stance that ma 'be in the clay `is either. pushed outor to o ue si( e, andthe rubbing action of the blade immediately lillsthe cavity thus made. By this process even a roughvariety The thirdround of blade Q, prevents the partiallysevered bar of clay from yielding under the strain of the cut andseparating[be- 'l`lie links n, beingturned up at right angles at their sides,'support the clay at the bottomand edge. .The blade Q being placed a little tendency to draw the clayinto` the angle of the chain, and this holds the bar in both di#reetions while being cut.

lhe blade Q is held between two spiral clamps, R, which are adjusted tothe proper length of the brick, and to correspond with -the length ofthe links n by the screws u,as shown. 'When this adjustment has beencompleted the clamps lt are closed upon the blade .by the through-boltse, which support tlierelamps, as clearly shown iii Figrl. i Y

'lhewinch, Fig. 1, sh'ows the point of appli- 'cation ot' the driving-power on the end of main shaft WV. A gear, D", on this shaft, throughintermediate gears, E2 F2, drives thc large gear inner end. of shaft Yis the clutch provided with the gear K", which drives gear J2 on the QBy .thisA construction the blade is caused to make a blade Q. When thejaws o f the. friction-clutch are closely en gage-d the flywheel H2 isdriven at increased speed andthe shaftX'at alcorresponding rate; butwhen the jaws are less closely in contact thespeed of the iiy-wheel iscorrespondingly decreased. The movements of the friction-clutch jaws toand from each other are controlled by the longitudinal oscil- I lationof the shaft X o f the spiral blade Q, and that oscillation is caused bythe action of the bar of clay against the blade, as hereinafter setforth.

rlhe rotation of the spiiuil blade Q drives the chain N. The speed ot'the blade is controlledby the motion of the bar of clay as vitissues jfrom the die, and the longitudinal movement of the blade governsthcfriction-eliitchVupon the end of the driving-shaft NV through whichvlevers Z D, supported by rock-shafts AI 15'.' (See Fig. 17 Therock-shaft B1 on themain y training of tlie machinel has upon it a veryshort lever, engaging with a washer bearing against the nut ofthe-female portion x' of the clutch-V, and by its movement increases ordecreasesthe friction of the jaws of the clutch. The male portion E3 ofthe clutch is driven positively by the main driving-shaft XV through theadj ustiii g-key, as shown. This nialeeluteh lila-is covered with woodin sections, set upon its end, so as to be easily renewed and present awearing-surface that will not cut; Leather may also be used, or thesegments ot' wood may be faced with leather.

Upon the rock-shaft A1, carrying'tlie cut-oft" shaft X at the blade end,is a lever, F, against which hears a spring, G?, adjustable bythehand-wheel Ill, so that the aniount'o't' pressure applied to the clutchmay be varied bythis spring G3, and transmitted, through the rockshaftA1 and cut-'oil' shaft X and lever D1, to the female jaw of the clutch.i

The operation of this part of the machine is as follows: When .theela-yissues from the die faster than the spiral blade Q is ruiming, itpresses against the blade, moving it forward.,

thus forcing the clutch-jaws more closely -together,'inereasiug thespeed of the fly-wheel,

. and consequently that of the `cutting-spiral.

Should the spiral Q run too fast for the clay, it will, by itsrcactionagainst the clay, screw itself back, and thus relieve thepressure on the clutch, and be retarded by the diminishing speed of thefly-wheel shaft, the blade thereby becoming an automatic regulating'device, wholly under the control of the issuing bar of clay, and muchnioi'e sensitive thaii the old To the .saine lever, F', to whichthe-spring G is attached is eoupled,'by a link, Il, a handlever J l,whereby the friction of the clutch may e controlled'by hand whendesired;

1 suchr obstructions.

The arm K1 upon the reclcshaft A1, carrying the spiral end of theeut-oftshaft, is made hollow, and through it extends the lever or columnZ, carrying the box Y, the lower end' z of .which rests in a notch inthe -end of a lever, `Lwhich is counterweightcdby Ml, so as to nearly`balance the weight of the spiral `blade Q and its shaft. i, By thismeans the power re- .quired to raise the spiral Q, isreduced to little llmore thanthat required to cut oft' a brick, so .'tlhatwhen the4 blade Qstrikes a hardr substance which it cannot displaceor cut through, theblade rides upA over it, lifting its yshaft X and box Y, and'; thuspasses harmless over all lt, against which the, forward head ot' thestopping of those-parts-,whi'ch would be liable f to cause'damageitothemachine. The bar of 1 clay, as it'issucs from the die'and'sandbox, 4isllreceifvcd on a table, T', hinged at the slde, as

shown, 'so` that itl can be turnedV up laterally out of the `waywhendesired. y

The bricks are 'dehve'redlby the chain to a -slidin g plate, R2,whicln'in turn, delivers them ,to an 01E-bearing belt, '(n'ot showm) butwhich ris substantially like, that shown and described inthe patentspreviously referred to, said Voff-bearing -beltu being always drivenfaster `than the greatest speed at which the `bar of clay issues fromthe die, thusfseparating the bricks for convenience of handlingtheloi'-` bearers. a I

Should the .wooden f pi n fm, by `which 1 the `formeris held shut,bren-k and allow the former to iiyopen-darin g the time the hinged tableT is; down, some part of the machine would 'be broken or displaced 4wereitfinot for' `the curved incline- S',.attachcd to table T', 1111-. derwhich thelnut 'of the former-bolt K slides, and turns over the table 'l"out of the way.. '(Se liig.4 S.)

Ati-ga point" opposite -to that at which the i chain N reaches'varhorizontal position is secured to the cap t, which holds down the chain,a slide, on theend of which is a spring,

s', for the purpose of guiding and holding the n Y n bar of clayaga-nist the angular side of the To protect `the tempering-case from theeffectlof' undue vinternal 'pressure arising fromy anyobstruction or toogreat stiffness of the as showny in Fig. and weight B2.

Should the blade be sud- Ad lenlycaught in the chain from any defect, or

be wedged by a nail or other article, so as to z 4 prevent itsrevolving, the flat friction-plate rear cud of said shaft, running truewith it, 4

and in contact with a loose plano-convex plate, U, in the cavity of thecross-head, all as and -for the purpose set forth. a

The-conoidal hopper II, provided with a flange, a, and annulus b, andarranged with itslargcr` openingfdownward, in the manner and for thepurposes stated. 1

3. In combination with the shell of the tempering-case, the inlet-pipeI, inserted tangen-` tially into said case on the side on which thetempering-knives are on the ascending part of their revolutioln-as andfor the nurnose specified. j 1

4. The shaft l?, provided'iwithtemperingknives'K, arranged in a spiralline opposite in direction to that of the threads of theexpressing-screw, in the' manner described, and for the purpose setforth.

f5. Thespirally-arrangedknivesK, supported at lthe back'by projectionselv on the pnggingshaft, set in a spiral,and having' their faces set toimpel the clay toward the delivery end of the machine, asdescribed.

` 6. The expressing-screw S, havin g its mouth seta little back from andopposite to the first tempering-knife, in the manner and for the purposespecified. l

7. The expressing-screw having a diameter .at its delivering-point notmore than double the greatest diameter ot' the forming=die.

, S. The former and die-lining, made 'in one piece, as described, forthe purpose stated.A

9. The former provided on one side with the enlarged hinge j, andon theother with the swinging locking-bolt 7.1, attached by theV Iwoodenvpin'm, in4 the manner described, for the-purposes set'forth. l

10.,"lhe sand-box' provided with -flexible seraperscc'f, arranged indiierent planes, so that' no corners shall be formed to becomeclogged'by weak and soft clay,l as described.

ll. The cut-o mechanism consisting of the endless slitted belt N, incombination with the spiral .blade (2 constructed as described, andrunningin the slits of the belt, in the manner and for the purposestated.

1,2. The4 spiral blades Q, having enlarging diameters, as described,held between the ad` justing-elamps, and united by through-bolts -to thecircular heads attachedio the shaft X, asshown and described.

13. The blade-shaft X, ruiming in Jorurnab. boxes supported by universaljoints upon oscillating levers, and connected by pulleys with the clutchand {1y-wheel which control the speed of the cut'zoli' mechanism, in themanner described. .V l 14. "The combination of'tl'ie weighted lever L1,-hollow 'arm Kl, and rod Z with the-journalbox of the bladeshaft X.,inthe manner dcscribed, for the purpose of balancing the blade .aludenabling it to clear obstructions, as speci- I ,f V

` 15. The combination of 'the main shaftW, clutch V, gear K,ily-wheel'shatt I, pulleys@ Y and for-the purpose s L2r M2, :ma shaft Xof ma@ on @hammer and for the purposes described.

16. The combination, with the hin ged former, constructed asdescribetbof the 'hinged table lT', provided with the slide S', in themanner l 17. Thejsand-box ,constructed as described, and provided with nsliding bottom, i, as and for the' purpose stated.

In testimony that I. olnim i110. foregoing' as my own invention I :tfiixhereto my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' CYRUS CHAMBERS, JR.

Witnesses: I

S. BERNARD GHAMBERS, WiLLIM/il MENDHAM.

